The United Nations on Wednesday called for "free and fair elections" in Syria, urging swift action to support the country’s transition after Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and allied rebels ousted president Bashar al-Assad from power. Read our liveblog to see how the day's events unfolded.
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Blinken says Syria's HTS should learn from Taliban isolation
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Wednesday on Syria's triumphant HTS rebels to follow through on promises of inclusion, saying it can learn a lesson from the isolation of Afghanistan's Taliban.
The Islamist movement rooted in Al-Qaeda and supported by Turkey has promised to protect minorities since its lightning offensive toppled strongman Bashar al-Assad this month following years of stalemate.
"The Taliban projected a more moderate face, or at least tried to, in taking over Afghanistan, and then its true colors came out. The result is it remains terribly isolated around the world," Blinken said at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.
After some initial overtures to the West, the Taliban reimposed a strict interpretation of Islamic law that includes barring women and girls from secondary school and university.
"So if you're the emerging group in Syria," Blinken said, "if you don't want that isolation, then there's certain things that you have to do in moving the country forward."
Turkey warns Syria rulers to 'address issue' of Kurdish forces
Turkey's foreign minister said Wednesday there would be no reason for his country to launch an offensive against Kurdish forces in Syria if its new rulers "properly" addressed the issue of the groups, whom Ankara brands "terrorists".
"There is a new administration in Damascus now. I think, this is primarily their concern now," minister Hakan Fidan said in an interview with broadcaster Al Jazeera.
"So, I think if they are going to, if they address this issue properly, so there would be no reason for us to intervene."
UN investigators hope to access Syria 'crime scenes' soon
UN investigators who for years have been gathering evidence of horrific crimes committed in Syria hope Bashar al-Assad's downfall will finally mean they can access "the crime scene" and "massive evidence".
UN calls for 'free and fair' elections' in Syria
The United Nations on Wednesday urged "free and fair elections" in Syria following the transition period triggered by the fall of Bashar al-Assad.
"We must support the Syrian people and seize this moment of hope. If we don’t act quickly, I fear this window will close," said Tom Fletcher, head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), in a phone interview with AFP.
Syria war monitor says 21 pro-Turkey fighters killed in north
Syria war monitor said 21 pro-Turkey fighters were killed Wednesday after they attacked a Kurdish-held position near a flashpoint northern town despite a US-brokered ceasefire extension in the area.
"At least 21 members of pro-Turkey factions were killed and others wounded by fire from the Manbij Military Council after pro-Turkey factions attacked" a position at the Tishreen Dam, some 25 kilometres (15 miles) from the town of Manbij, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Germany jails Syrian for 10 years for Assad-era war crimes
A German court handed a 10-year jail term to a Syrian former militia leader on Wednesday for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed under former president Bashar al-Assad.
The man, named only as Ahmad H., 47, had come to Germany in 2016 at the height of the influx of migrants to Europe.
Ahmad H. was found guilty of crimes including torture, deprivation of liberty and enslavement, a spokeswoman for the higher regional court in Hamburg told AFP.
Prosecutors said he carried out the crimes between 2012 and 2015 as a local leader of the pro-government "shabiha" militia in Damascus tasked with helping to crush dissent
UN humanitarian chief urges massive aid boost for Syria
Visiting UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher called for a massive aid boost for Syria Wednesday to respond to "this moment of hope" after the ouster of longtime strongman Bashar al-Assad.
"I want to scale up massively international support, but that now depends on donors. The Syria fund has been historically, shamefully underfunded and now there is this opportunity," Fletcher told AFP, adding: "We have to get behind (the Syrian people) and to respond to this moment of hope. And if we don't do that quickly, then I fear that this window will close."
Erdogan says Turkey, Lebanon agree to act together on Syria
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday said Turkey and Lebanon would work together on Syria after the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad by Islamist-led rebels.
"A new era has now begun in Syria. We agree that we must act together as two important neighbors of Syria," Erdogan told a news conference, alongside Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati.
Syria Kurdish leader proposes 'demilitarised zone' in northern town
After the fall of President Bashar al-Assad, combat erupted in the north of Syria between Kurdish forces, who control vast areas of northeastern Syria, and Pro-Turkish groups.
But peace in the region is fragile. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Turkey is preparing to launch an assault on Kobane, a Kurdish town on the Turkish border.
Belgian PM says important territorial integrity of Syria is being respected
It is important that the territorial integrity of Syria is being respected, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo told reporters ahead of meeting other EU leaders in Brussels.
"Everything needs to be done to appease the situation so that people that want to go back can go can go back. We need to avoid that Syria is the place where regional conflicts involving multiple countries take place," he said.
Netanyahu says Israel will remain on Mt Hermon 'until another arrangement is found'
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday said Israel will remain on the strategic Mount Hermon site on the Syrian border "until another arrangement is found".
Israeli troops occupied Mount Hermon when they moved into a demilitarized zone between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights following the collapse of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad's government this month.
On Tuesday, Netanyahu went to the site for an operational briefing with military commanders and security officials.
German minister says occupation of Golan Heights breaches international law
The occupation of the Golan Heights is a violation of international law, Germany's foreign minister said during a speech in the parliament on Wednesday, after the Israeli government decided at the weekend to double its population on the occupied strategic plateau.
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also said she would make clear to Turkey on a visit on Friday that the rights of Kurds in northern Syria must be protected.
'I wasn't expecting so much poverty': FRANCE 24's Wassim Nasr reports from Latakia
"I passed through several Alawite villages in Latakia. I wasn't expecting so much poverty here on a beach in the town of Latakia, at the foot of an abandoned military post", Wassim Nasr wrote on X.
Saudi crown prince, Iraqi prime minister discuss developments in Syria
Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed, Shia al-Sudani discussed developments in Syria at a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during a visit to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, Sudani's office said.
Sudani emphasised "Iraq's keenness on the unity of Syria, non-interference in internal affairs, and respect for the free will of the Syrians", his office said.
Syrian civil defence official said Wednesday that White Helmets rescuers discovered unidentified bodies and remains in a medicine warehouse in a Damascus suburb.
An AFP video journalist at the scene said the warehouse strewn with medicine boxes was located just around 50 metres (yards) from the Sayyida Zeinab shrine, a revered site for Shiite Muslims.
"We received a report about the presence of bodies, bones and a foul smell at the site," White Helmets official Ammar al-Salmo told AFP.
"In the warehouse, we found a refrigerated room containing decomposing corpses," Salmo said, adding that some appeared to have died more than a year and a half earlier.
He said human bones were also scattered on the ground, estimating there were around 20 "victims".
Erdogan hails Macron's decision to send diplomats to Damascus
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomed France's decision to send diplomats to Damascus after the fall of Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in a phone call with President Emmanuel Macron, the presidency said Wednesday.
Erdogan also said efforts had begun for the return of Syrian refugees to their country.
FRANCE 24 in Syria: Is rebel-stronghold Idlib a model for Syria’s future?
Syrian rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham has governed in Idlib, northwest Syria, since 2017. Now that the Assad regime has fallen at the hands of the Islamist group, could Idlib be a model for Syria's future governance?
FRANCE 24's Andrew Hilliar, Karim Yahiaoui and Tarek Kai report from Syria.
Meeting with Syrian interim govt was 'good opportunity' for diplomacy, Berlin says
German diplomats' meeting with members of the Syrian interim government was a good opportunity to make contact with the country's new de facto rulers, a German foreign ministry spokesperson said.
"This was the first good opportunity to get in touch with HTS and the de facto guardians in Damascus," the spokesperson said, referring to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the Islamist group left in charge following the ouster of president Bashar al-Assad.
Tuesday's talks in Damascus focused on stabilising Syria and looked at ways to resume Germany's diplomatic presence there, according to the spokesperson.
UN calls for 'free and fair' elections in Syria
The UN envoy to Syria called on Wednesday for "free and fair" elections after the ouster of president Bashar al-Assad, as he voiced hope for a political solution for Kurdish-held areas.
Years of civil war in Syria have also left the country heavily dependent on aid, deeply fragmented, and desperate for justice and peace.
Addressing reporters in Damascus, UN special envoy Geir Pedersen said "there is a lot of hope that we can now see the beginning of a new Syria".
"A new Syria that... will adopt a new constitution... and that we will have free and fair elections when that time comes, after a transitional period," he said.
Erdogan hails Macron's decision to send diplomats to Damascus
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomed France's decision to send diplomats to Damascus after the fall of Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in a phone call with President Emmanuel Macron, the presidency said Wednesday.
A French delegation arrived Tuesday at the country's embassy in Damascus, the first visit of diplomats from France since Islamist-led rebels forced Assad to flee the country.
Turkey reopened its embassy in Damascus on Saturday and is constant touch with Syria's new rulers.
Erdogan told French President Emmanuel Macron that "he was pleased" with Paris's decision to send a diplomatic mission to Syria, his office said.
Erdogan also said efforts had begun for the return of Syrian refugees to their country.
Syrian rebel leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, better known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, said on Tuesday that rebel factions in Syria will be "disbanded".
Evidence emerging from mass grave sites in Syria has exposed a state-run “machinery of death” under toppled leader Bashar al-Assad, said Stephen Rapp, a former US ambassador-at-large for war crimes issues. He estimated more than 100,000 people were tortured and murdered since 2013.
France reopened its embassy in Damascus, Syria, after it had been closed for 12 years during the country's civil war, the foreign ministry said.
The United Nations said it expects around one million people to return to Syria in the first half of 2025, following the collapse of president Bashar al-Assad's rule
